Stage Door News
Stage Door News
On the outskirts of a mining town the Ducharme twins, Grace and Sugar, fend for themselves after a lifetime of loss. Isolation, grief, and fear have made them unique outcasts whose worlds are shaped by a self-made mythology. Controlled by erratic logic and superstition, the twins confuse co-dependence for love, and angels for monsters. On their thirtieth birthday (which happens to be the anniversary of their mother, father, and triplet’s death) a mysterious runaway shows up on their doorstep. The twins are quickly caught up in a surreal love triangle that forever shifts the tectonic plates that form their world.
Hailed by the National Post as one of the best Canadian plays of the past decade, Claudia Dey’s dark, lyrical comedy premiered at Ship’s Company Theatre in 2004 and has since been produced across North America and the UK. This intimate staging marks a return to Toronto where the play was nominated for a Dora Award for Best Production in 2005. Directed by Daniel Pagett and starring Tess Degenstein, Hannah Spear, and Colin Munch, Severely Jazzed will be mounting ‘Trout Stanley’ at the Storefront Theatre, one of the most highly attended and celebrated independent arts venues in the city.
A FASCINATING LOOK AT GENDER, LEAD BY EMERGING FEMALE ARTISTS
“Hysterically funny...A deliciously lyrical piece of Canadian Gothic” - The New York Times
Written by one of the country’s most distinct theatrical voices, Toronto’s Claudia Dey, Trout Stanley sheds light on sibling love and rivalry and reveals the bizarre and often comedic idiosyncrasies of gender performance. This production is made especially poignant by the two emerging theatre artists at its helm, Hannah Spear (Best Actress, International Academy of Web Television, Versus Valerie) and Tess Degenstein (1000 Islands Playhouse, Theatre Aquarius).
Up-and-coming artists, both Spear and Degenstein are at a naissance in their theatrical careers in Toronto. Spear has returned to the city recently after completing a residency at the Banff Centre, and starring in a production of Arcadia at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre, and for the past few years, Degenstein has been performing in regional theatres across the
country, as well as recently touring Europe with a variety of improv troupes. Both women are internationally established improvisers well-versed in comedy, and are founding members of the Bad Dog Theatre’s Repertory Players. They see this production as a homecoming.
Spear says “I was blown away by Dey’s ability to balance the odd with the obvious, simultaneously pointing out the strange and beautiful nature of our base desires, while allowing for the unnatural and disconcerting to shine through.”
A MAJOR UNDERTAKING BY SOME OF TORONTO’S BEST GROWING TALENT
Known for both their dramatic and comedic undertakings, Hannah Spear and Tess Degenstein have joined forces with some of the city’s most exciting, diverse, and innovative emerging artists, all at a definitive moment in their careers. The creative team includes director Daniel Pagett who is hot off his lauded directorial debut of The Skriker; actor and writer Colin Munch, a frequent collaborator with Theatre Brouhaha and recent Fringe VIP (NOW Magazine); and film and theatre designer Hanna Puley, currently having a banner year designing the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s A Woman is a Secret, and winning a Canadian Screen Award for CTV’s Space Riders.
The artists’ eclecticism and diverse backgrounds make this an essential, rejuvenated production of Claudia Dey’s modern classic, illuminating the beating heart of her most singular script.
Severely Jazzed Productions’
TROUT STANLEY
by Claudia Dey
Director: Daniel Pagett
Starring: Tess Degenstein, Hannah Spear, Colin Munch Production Designer: Hanna Puley
Sound Designer: Daniel Maslany
Lighting Designer: Melissa Joakim
Stage Manager: Kelsey Rutledge
Production Manager: Alanna McConnell
Poster Designer: Meags Fitzgerald
Marketing Consultant: Lisa Amerongen
May 21st – June 6th, 2015
Evenings at 8pm & Matinees at 2pm
$15.00 – $25.00
The Storefront Theatre
955 Bloor Street West
Advance tickets available @ www.secureaseat.com
SEVERELY JAZZED PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 2014, Severely Jazzed Productions is comprised of versatile artists Hannah Spear (Bad Dog Theatre’s Improvisor of the Year for 2014; Best Actress - International Academy of Web Television; Several IPF Funded Web-Series), and Tess Degenstein (improv with: Bad Dog Theatre,Vienna’s English Lovers, Berlin’s Die Gorillas; actor at the Citadel Theatre, Western Canada Theatre; writer for She Does the City). The company seeks to produce essential work that engages and challenges contemporary theatre audiences.
2015-04-21
Toronto: Severely Jazzed Productions presents "Trout Stanley" May 21-June 6